Rabindranath Burman,
Managing Director, ITT Corporation India Pvt Ltd According to the data provided by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the petroleum and natural
gas industry in India has attracted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) worth USD 3,338.75 million from April 2000 to
March 2012, which indicates that the Indian energy sector is expected to become at par with the global stipulations,
in fact, has already become competitive enough as far as the international investments are concerned. Rabindranath
Burman, Managing Director, ITT Corporation India Pvt Ltd writes.

Being a growing economy, India is
significant consumer of oil and
natural gas. The country is Asia s
third-largest oil consumer and world s
fifth largest energy consumer. Almost
two-thirds of the country s energy
consumption accounts for oil and coal,
while majority lies in hydrocarbons.

The Indian economy promises to become
one of the most dynamic economies in the
world with a policy shift towards economic
liberalisation, globalisation and promotion
of international competitiveness.

Indian Petroleum sector is gearing itself
to meet the ever-growing urbanisation and
large scale investments in modernising
the rural vast land. While pursuing the
large infrastructure requirement of the country, the challenge that the oil and
gas have already met is to produce one of
the best products by investing heavily on
getting the best octane value, removing
unwanted sulphur and meeting the latest
Euro norms. India continues to look out
for various gas basins not only on the
huge coastal and on shore prospects
within India but also bidding and acquiring
blocks globally either directly or through
joint ventures.

To meet these huge demands, pursuing
the best in the globe, there would be
huge and sustained investments with
world-class product standards and
efficiency, for which large and sustained
investments would be required in
upstream, downstream and infrastructure
developments. Going forward from the downstream, various global companies
have not only declared what also
considering huge investments to the
chemical segments as well, which again
is maturing from a base refined or
processed stage to a mechanised and
upgraded quality standard. This calls
for one of the best process requirement
and proven equipments that would
be required.

According to the data provided by
Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion (DIPP), The petroleum and
natural gas industry in India has attracted
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) worth
USD 3,338.75 million from April 2000 to
March 2012, which indicates that the Indian
energy sector is expected to become at
par with the global stipulations, in fact,
has already become competitive enough
as far as the international investments
are concerned.

Most of the developed countries are
overhauling their ageing fossil fuel energy
and at the same time responding to new
challenges including energy security
and climate change, India still being a
developing country and moderate climatic
conditions overcomes this fact. Apart
from the mineral richness there are other
factors also that lure investors to India.
Investor appetite for companies that
use resources efficiently is being driven
by rising middle-class consumption and
higher fossil-fuel costs.

Being the sixth largest consumer of oil
in the world and the ninth largest crude
oil importer, India s oil and gas sector
contributes over 15 per cent to the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP). India is looking
outwards, and is all set to grow. The genesis of the policy choices is going to
be one of the key elements to maintain a
fine and indispensable balance between
financial integration and increased
vulnerability to global demand and supply,
making the present decade, a crucial one
for the nation to navigate in the oil and
gas sector.

Indian government is taking conscious
steps to boost investment in the oil and
gas sector. A 100 per cent FDI is allowed
for Indian companies in refineries,
for petroleum products and pipeline
sector, natural gas and for infrastructure
related to petroleum products marketing.
Various measures are also being taken
to substantially accelerate exploratory
activities for enhancing domestic oil and
gas production.

These are improving the recovery factor
from existing major fields by implementing
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)/Improved
Oil Recovery (IOR) schemes, in particular,
exploring new areas, especially in
deep waters and difficult frontier areas.
Also, to promote investments, there are
Investment Promotion Cells being set up
for the energy sector, to provide a single
point of contact for investors, which is
a garnering initiative in its own. All this
indicates our country s potential for
investments in the energy sector.

Even the auto industry majors in the globe
have decided India to be a destination
to cater to the Asian and Europe,
Mediterranean and Asia (EMA) regions.

There are new oil and gas basins being
discovered and 78 per cent of the country s
sedimentary area is yet to be explored.
This exploration will create high demand for various services and operations like
drilling rigs, offshore support vehicles,
construction and equipment services,
collecting stations, transportation etc,
which again calls for huge investments.
So, oil and gas sector has a very strong
integration with the country s growing
economy and India being an energy rich
country invites the best bet from the
foreign nationals to invest here.

In addition to the aforesaid, natural
mineral reserves, in terms of one of
the best iron ore and the highest yield,
makes India a consistent investment
region for gearing up to the iron and
steel markets globally. Ease of doing
business coupled with the democratic
government and our universally
communicating - English speaking mass,
makes it a global destination. In fact, in
today's scenario most of the global EPC
contractors and process licensors have
not only imported young Indian talent but
also set up large basis in the country to
cater to worldwide engineering projects,
be it at the feed stage or at project
execution stage.

The huge talent pool is an advantage both
at a resource scale as well as considering
the economic viability. The country
is rising as a potential refining hub
because the capital costs are lowered by
25??50 per cent here as compared
comparison to other Asian countries.

India is one of the world's fastest growing
wealth creators and is emerging as
one of the most attractive investment
destinations in the world. We have made
a considerable progress in the last ten
years in attracting private investment
into various sectors here. The industrial
processes in the country offer a huge
potential for up gradation in terms of the
innovative technological advances.